This is a very tasty and nutritious vegetarian dolma that I personally prefer over the meat version.

If you don't have all of the vegetables used in the stuffing, feel free to replace with another vegetable (except I wouldn't leave out the tomatoes or garlic). You can saute the stuffing vegetables with a little oil for a few minutes but we didn't notice a taste difference when we did that.

Eggplant - remove top stem and cut in half crosswise. Core out the middle on each half but leave the bottom part to make like a pocket. Sprinkle salt on the inside. Save the core for the stuffing.

Zucchini - remove top stem, peel, and cut in half crosswise. Core out the middle on each half but leave the bottom part to make like a pocket. Save the core for the stuffing.

Onion - Cut the top and bottom off. Make a slit from the side into the middle of the onion and then peel. Carve out the dark area on the bottom of the onion where the roots were (this makes it easier to pull the layers of the onion off). Put in microwave for 2 minutes or put in boiling water for a few minutes. Allow to cool enough to handle. Gently remove outside leaves that are big enough to stuff and save the middle for the stuffing.

Bell pepper - cut across the top except for about a half inch. Remove the seeds and membrane.

Preparing StuffingAdd the following to a large bowl:

Finely dice the broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, potato, mushrooms, and the core of the eggplant, zucchini, and onions.

Line the bottom of your pot with carrots or celery or anything else you prefer so your stuffed vegetables and dolma don't burn or stick on the bottom. I used fava beans.

Start stuffing zucchini, eggplant, onions, and peppers a little more than ¾ full. Make sure the onion skins overlap each other when you are closing them. Add the vegetables to your pot after you stuff them. Try to wedge the eggplant and zucchini into each other so the stuffing doesn’t come out.

Next roll grape leaves. Lay out a grape leaf, vein side up. Put stuffing near the top but not right to edge. Bring the sides in and then roll starting from the top, while tucking in at the same time. Try to lay grape leaves close to each other so they don’t come apart when cooked.

Cooking

Mix the sauce ingredients and pour over vegetables and dolma in the pot.

Place your pot on stove over high heat for a couple of minutes until the liquids boil.

Cover and reduce heat to low to simmer for an hour or until rice is cooked.

Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Remove lid from pot. Place a serving dish bigger than your pot over your pot (serving side down). Flip the pot and serving dish over together and set down. Slowly remove your pot.